Hobby Festival aims to bring together local groups this Saturday

Do you want to find out about things to do in your area? Interested in what the people of Blackburn do outside of work? Perhaps you have a spare-time passion or weekend pursuit you’ve been waiting for the right moment to reveal?

Well, wait no more, Blackburn Festival of Pastimes is here! On the afternoon of Saturday 30th November they are inviting you, your friends and family to celebrate your hobbies and pastimes. Amateur clubs, societies, groups and associations, as well as individuals, are gathering to talk and share information about what they do for love-not-money. From singing groups, to knitters, socialist football teams to scenic railway-line hiking groups – they’ve all found the Festival of Pastimes a great space to learn more about their area and the people-led activities that give it its character.

If you’you’ve got a hobby or are part of a club that you’d like to demonstrate or display at the Festival of Pastimes get in touch with the organisers on festivalofpastimes@yahoo.com or Andy Abbott on 07834696724. Even if you don’t have a hobby you’d like to share formally there’ll be plenty of info about things to get involved in locally. It’s a refreshingly different opportunity to answer the age-old ice-breaker ‘So, what do you do?’

Artist Andy Abbott is in Blackburn through invitation by MAAP, an arts agency working with Canal & Rivers Trust to transform Daisyfeld Mills. Sue Ball of MAAP says: ‘We are calling the people of Blackburn to come forward and share their passions and pastimes. Now is not the time to be modest. The event in November will bring people together of all ages and backgrounds through their shared interests and will reveal how knowledgeable and skilled people are when it comes to their hobbies. We think of pastimes as something that we do merely as a distraction from work but you will be surprised at the infinite range of interests people have and what it means to them. The Festival of Pastimes will reveal something new about people of Blackburn.’